That rubbed me the wrong way. I raised my voice. “You will do no such thing. You won’t lay a hand on me. Do you understand?”
“I’m afraid you’ll give me no choice.”
“Standing at someone’s door is not a crime. I haven’t pushed past you or tried to enter. If you touch me, I will kick you straight in the balls!”
That didn’t seem to scare him. The next thing I knew, two more men appeared, and I began to worry for my safety. What exactly are they planning to do?
My instincts told me to yell. “Leo! Help!”
I had no clue if he was even home. But I continued to scream, repeating his name. Would these guys call the police? I pondered leaving, but I didn’t have a phone to dial a driver. I’d have to walk the two miles back to Lavinia’s house.
And then, just when I thought I was going to lose my mind, I heard his voice.
“What the hell is going on here?”
I looked up. “Leo. Oh my God.”
He hadn’t looked me in the face until I said his name. He turned white as his eyes met mine. He just kept blinking, as if he wasn’t sure I was actually standing in front of him.
“Felicity…” he whispered.
“I’m so sorry I made a scene. But they wouldn’t tell you I was here.”
Leo stared at me incredulously as one of the men tried to explain.
“Do you know this woman? We didn’t think—”
“Please leave us be.” Leo held his hand out. “Go back inside.”
The man stammered, “Your Grace, we were just—”
“Leave us be!” Leo shouted.
The air fell silent. The man nodded, and the other guys followed him back into the house. The door didn’t completely close behind them, but at least we were alone now.
Leo seemed neither happy nor upset. His was an expression of pure shock.
“What are you doing here?” he finally asked.
My heart nearly stopped. Why is he asking me that? My voice shook. “I got your letter. Two months late. I’m so sorry I didn’t respond, but I only saw it sitting there in a pile a few days ago.”
His eyebrows knitted. “My letter…?”
“Yes.” I fished inside my purse for the envelope. “The letter you wrote me back in June. You said you were getting married in September—which is less than three weeks away. And you needed to know if I still had feelings for you before you took that step. I was so shocked to receive it, but honestly, Leo, I haven’t stopped thinking about you over the years, either. I would have come sooner if I—”
“Let me see it, please.” He held out his hand. “The letter.”
Confused, I handed it to him.
What’s going on?
Then a feeling of dread came over me. The letter mentioned he’d been drinking.
Oh no. Panic squeezed my chest.
“Do you not remember writing it?” I asked with a lump in my throat.
He seemed to be in disbelief as he stared down at it. “Of course, I do.”
“Why are you acting like you don’t?”
“Felicity…” He took a few steps toward me and handed the letter back. “Look at the date.”
I looked down and read. “It says June 2, 2025.”
“That’s not a five.” He paused. “It’s a three. I wrote this letter to you over two years ago.”
A few seconds went by as I processed what he said. It felt like all of the air left my body. Then my heart dropped to my feet. “How can this be?” I looked down at it again, the letter shaking in my trembling hand. Three… Five… Everything looked blurry right now.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” he whispered.
I cleared my throat. “Wait…so, um, if this was written two years ago then…you’re…”
He finished my sentence. “Married.”
The sun seemed to disappear in that moment. It felt like the world was closing in on me. I wanted to run, but I couldn’t move. “Oh.”
“Why is it that you only saw the letter now?”
My eyes closed. “Mrs. Angelini passed away after a heart attack about two years ago. This letter must have arrived around the time she died. It got mixed in with a bunch of sympathy cards. I only just found it when going through all the mail at her house recently, and that’s why…” My words trailed off.
“Oh, Felicity. I’m so sorry to hear about Mrs. Angelini.”
“Thank you.”
“I know how much she meant to you.”
You meant a lot to me, too.
As we stood facing each other, light raindrops began to fall.
“You look beautiful,” he said.
Those words were like a knife to my heart.
“So do you. Handsome.” I nodded. “Healthy.”
Healthy? I didn’t even know what I was saying at this point.
He kept shaking his head. “I don’t know what to say. I’m speechless right now. I can hardly breathe, let alone speak.”
“I can relate.”
He looked beyond me, as if to check for a vehicle. “When did you get here? Are you staying somewhere?”